Wednesday, September 1, 2010

The Hazards of Driving Essay

The Hazards of Driving Essay

Many people take for granted their ability to drive. When we drive, we are putting ourselves in dangerous situations. At some point, one small mistake in judgement can cause death to another person that GOD put into this world. This is a power no human should yield. The only reason that driving is necessary is to better our lives and to make things that much simpler. Driving is a task that requires concentration, when that concentration is broken, the possibility for disaster is formed.

No one ever knows when an accident will occur, which is why it still happens. This should influence people enough to take their time while driving. Statistics show that teenagers drive entirely too fast and reckless, while on the other hand elder people dive very slow and cautious. This clash in driving types cause a dangerous driving condition.

When driving a motor vehicle there can be many hazards, which all motorists should be ready to respond to in each situation. Some of these hazards include: bad weather, drunk driving, road construction, unaware drivers, car troubles and too many others to mention. A lot of the hazards can be very dangerous to all motorists, but most can be avoided.

There are many uncontrollable conditions in the Weather such as rain, snow, sunlight, fog and sometimes even the wind can all become factors to hazardous driving conditions. When raining, the car may hydroplane, and the driver may lose control of the car which could very well cause an accident. Rain can also make it hard to see through your windshield. This hazard may be solved by simply not driving in these weather conditions, which is the safest. However, if you really have somewhere to go, the only answer is to slow down to a speed that will give you enough visibility so that you can see a fair distance ahead of your car.

While driving in snowy or icy conditions, you may need proper chains or snow tires for your vehicle so it won’t lose control and spin off the road causing you to hit another vehicle or even worse a pedestrian injuring or killing yourself or others. This can be avoided by always carrying tire chains or taking your time while driving slower if you know that you're going to be driving in a snowy area.

While sunlight can help a driver by giving them a better vision, it can also disrupt their vision when the sun directly in the drivers line of sight. Sunlight can impair your view and make it harder to see oncoming traffic or even the car in front of you. Ways to prevent this hazard is to put your sun visor down, or if the sun is too low for your visor, you should always have a pair of UV sunglasses in your glove compartment and use them when the situation arises. As in all situations the best form of avoidance is not to drive at all until the hazardous condition is over or take an alternate route to your destination.

Driving in the fog is like driving with a blindfold on. Statistics say that is the most hazardous driving condition in existence. The best advice on driving in this type of weather is to drive with your low beam on. Since that in fog, your high beam directs light up and into your vision, and the low beam directs light down and makes you more visible to oncoming traffic. I believe that law enforcement should shut down highway traffic when the fog is very heavy just as they do in some snowy and icy conditions.

Driving in the wind is not a problem for most since most live in cities and flat areas. But for some that drive in the mountain areas, it’s another problem entirely. Sometimes the wind is a whole lot stronger, which may pose a problem with lighter cars. The only answer for this problem is to take another, less windy, path.

Even a motorcyclist may become a hazard while doing everyday driving. Not everyone knows how to treat a motorcyclist while driving. The truth is that you should treat them as any other driver on the road. They deserve just as much room as we do when we drive cars.

Drunk driving is one of the most dangerous hazards in the United States. Forty percent of accidents on our highways that ended in death were attributed to death. A good law that we have is that law enforcement can suspend a driver’s license on the spot if a person tests over the legal blood alcohol limit. If you consume alcohol it is a good practice to have another person to take you to your destination afterwards. A driver under the age of 21 should not have a blood alcohol content at all. This type of behavior can be punished on the spot. If you are driving and suspect another motorist of being drunk, you should take another route or keep a large distance away from that driver and call the local law enforcement to handle the situation. If you consume alcohol there should be another sober person that is able to take you to your destination.

Road construction is another concern for driving. A driver must be aware, pay attention to signs and cones, bumps, speed and lane changes. Not paying attention to these signs can cause severe traffic accidents, injury, death, and/or damage to private or public property resulting in fines. Speeding in a construction area will not only get you a fine but can cause harm not only to yourself but also to others. There are laws that double fines in these areas, so a good practice is to keep a safe distance from other cars and pay extra attention to everything. If you do not pay attention to lane changes you can find yourself in a ditch or driving into oncoming traffic, so it is very important to follow the cones and traffic signs.

While driving, you may come across an area in which there is a large population of wildlife, which is another reason to pay attention to road signs. These signs warn of animal crossings. While some small animals may not cause much damage, you are killing or injuring another life form. There are also large wildlife such as deer, bears, and cows that may be in the street. These animals may cause death/injury to you and/or your passengers.

An unaware driver is yet another hazard of driving. Doing everyday things like talking on your cell phone, putting makeup/clothing on, reading something, changing radio stations, or distraction from passengers can lead to an accident. When doing these things, you don't usually have your eye on the road. During this time your surroundings may change very drastically in which you may not see a stop light or an oncoming vehicle that may result in an accident. To prevent yourself from becoming this hazard, simply pull over in a safe area to talk on your cell phone, put makeup on, read something, change radio stations, or have distractions from passengers.

Communication has become a part of almost everyone’s every day life. Without it, most are lost. Therefore it is natural to have one while driving. This unfortunately causes yet another common hazard that drivers have to deal with these days.

Communication equipment developers have known of this hazard and decided to respond to this. The answer they have created is the hands-free head set. Though this helps the driver to regain some concentration while driving, it is not the best answer. Just as driving with distractive passengers, driving while talking on a hands-free headset may also distract the driver momentarily, but a moment is all it takes to cause an accident.

Car troubles such as vehicles that don’t work well whether it’s yours or somebody else's can easily cause an accident. If your vehicle breaks down, it is important that you get it off the road safely. If another drivers vehicle is broke down in lanes of traffic you should be aware of your surroundings and drive the speed limit to give yourself the opportunity to get around the vehicle.

Always when driving, make sure your car is working properly. Problems like having broken headlights or brake lights may hinder your or another drivers sight. If one or both of your headlights are out, this decreases your distance of vision at night, which also may confuse another motorist into thinking that you are in a motorcycle instead, that in turn causes them to drive closer than safe. Driving without a working brake light may not let a driver behind you to know that you are breaking, which may not give them enough time to stop when you stop.

In conclusion, driving is everyone’s responsibility and in my opinion the most valuable thing anyone driver can do is to drive defensively and be aware of their own actions and the actions of other drivers on the road. Look, listen and live.

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